NTU and Kyoto U Launch a Master’s Double Degree Program in Agriculture

In late March, Dean Huu-Sheng Lur (盧虎生) of the NTU College of Bioresources and Agriculture (CBA-NTU) led a delegation to visit Kyoto University (KU). During the visit, Dean Lur signed a Master’s Double Degree Program agreement with Dean Eiji Nawata (繩田榮治) of the KU Graduate School of Agriculture (GSAKU), and discussed related details about the collaboration.

According to this agreement, students from either of the two colleges enrolled in this program will receive a master’s double degree from the two leading universities in Taiwan and Japan if they meet the graduation requirements of both academic systems. This agreement not only marks a new historic milestone in the long-term friendship and partnership between the two colleges, but also represents the fruition of close interactions over the past few years.

In 2012, Prof. Takashi Endo (遠藤 隆), then-Dean of GSAKU, was invited to Taiwan to attend the International Meeting for Deans of the Colleges of Agriculture hosted by CBA-NTU. Deeply impressed by the warm reception and the agenda at the meeting, Prof. Endo particularly expressed deep appreciation for the compassion and generous assistance of Taiwanese people to Japan after the devastating March 11, 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami.

In 2013, KU launched “The 2x by 2020 Initiative” as its new international strategy, and NTU was selected as one of its key partner universities in Asia. In the same year, KU visited NTU and expressed its willingness to encourage bilateral cooperation. In December 2013, the first joint NTU and KU symposium was held in Taipei. CBA-NTU was responsible for planning the agriculture-related sessions, and received the delegation headed by the then-Dean of GASKU, Prof. Hisashi Miyagawa (宮川 恒). In September 2014, the then-Dean Yuan-Tay Shyu (徐源泰) of CBA-NTU led faculty members to attend the second joint symposium held at Kyoto, and discussed potential cooperation schemes.

For many years, the two colleges have established a strong bond and friendship via frequent faculty visits, close research collaborations, student exchange programs, and the “Shi-Hon Scholarship Program for Master’s Students.” To deepen exchanges and establish sustainable cooperative relations between the two colleges, the Center for International Agricultural Education and Academic Exchanges (CIAEAE) of CBA-NTU and the International Exchange Section Office of GSAKU had engaged in multiple discussions and finally reached a consensus on the details of the Master’s Double Degree Program. The agreement was signed on March 28, 2018 by the two Deans. We look forward to seeing this program expand students’ international outlook, promote academic cooperation and exchanges between the two colleges, and most importantly maintain the “KIZUNA” (The Bonds of Friendship) between both parties.